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The Long History Of Sports, Politics And Race In America

Published September 28, 2017 at 12:20 PM CDT

President Trump has refused to back down from his criticism of NFL players who kneel during the national anthem. Since sparking the feud, he’s claimed that kneeling is disgraceful and framed the issue as one of patriotism — not, as some see it, as one of freedom of speech.

Sports, politics and race have a long history together in America. Here & Now‘s Jeremy Hobson takes a look back with historians  Ed Ayers ( @edward_l_ayers) and  Brian Balogh ( @historyfellow), co-hosts of the podcast  BackStory, which is produced at the  Virginia Foundation for the Humanities.

Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Baltimore Ravens players, including former player Ray Lewis, second from right, kneel down during the playing of the U.S. national anthem before an NFL football game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Wembley Stadium in London on Sunday, Sept. 24, 2017. (Matt Dunham/AP)
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Baltimore Ravens players, including former player Ray Lewis, second from right, kneel down during the playing of the U.S. national anthem before an NFL football game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Wembley Stadium in London on Sunday, Sept. 24, 2017. (Matt Dunham/AP)
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